‘You can see it’: Freddie Ljungberg says 23-year-old star will become an Arsenal great

Follow us on Google Discover

Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg spoke on The Ornstein and Chapman podcast about players with a winning mentality in Mikel Arteta’s squad.

The Swede spent a number of years as a coach at Arsenal. He looked after the under-15s at the start and worked his way up. He became Unai Emery’s assistant in 2019 and took over from the Spaniard when he was sacked last year.

Ljungberg worked with Arteta until the end of last season. He left the club in August to become a manager himself, and there is little doubt that he will succeed wherever he ends up in the coming months.

The former Arsenal interim boss highlighted the need for clubs to sign players who are not just talented, but also have a winning mentality. He claims there a few in Arteta’s squad and has picked out Kieran Tierney for some special praise.

He said: “I see it (a winning mentality) in some players. I think (Kieran) Tierney is going to be great for the club. He has definitely got that winning edge. You can see it, you saw it against Leeds after the game. I couldn’t say too much on TV (when he featured as a pundit on Sky Sports).

Tierney is a fan favourite at Arsenal. The 23-year-old is not just a quality footballer, but he is a true leader as well. He is often seen having a go at players during the game and plays a big part in his side’s defensive organisation.

The former Celtic man recently earned praise for his reaction against Leeds United’s Ezgjan Alioski, after the Macedonian went down dramatically to get Nicolas Pepe sent off in the Premier League.

Tierney’s qualities as a player make him brilliant but his leadership skills make him even better. Many fans urged Arteta to make him skipper after his reaction against Leeds, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if that happens in a few years.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the skipper at the moment and he will likely retain the armband as long as he is at the club. Once he leaves, Tierney will be many people’s first choice to become Arsenal’s next captain, and he thoroughly deserves it.